Safety-holder for coal-car checks.



E. M. SHORTER.

SAFETY HOLDER FOR COAL CAR CHECKS.

APPLICATION FILED IAN. 11. 916.

Patented 0t..17,1916.

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EMANUEL IVI. SHORTER, EMPIRE, ALALlBmI/LA.l

SAFETY-,HOLDER FOR COAL-CAR CHECKS.

To all whom t may concern:

Be it known that I, EMANUEL M. SHORTER, a citizen of the United States of America, residing atl Empire, in the county of Walker and State of'Alabama, have invented certain new and useful Improvements -in Safety Holdersfor Coal-Car Checks, of which the following is a speciication. y

This invention relates tol new and useful improvements in safety check holders, and is particularly adapted for use in coal mining and like industries.

The usual custom in the mining industry is to pay the miners by the load, or in other words, by the cars which they mine and load, the miner attaching to the car when forwarding the same from the mine, a check bearing his name or other identification, in order that the weighing master may give the credit for the car to the proper party.` Heretofore, these checks have been hung loosely on hooks or placed in bo'Xes or other suitable receptacles carried by the cars, and on frequent occasions, they have been lost. and maliciously substituted by checks belonging to other miners who would thus receive the credit for the car.

The primaryobject of this invention is to provide a suitable check holder from which the checks cannot be lost or substituted during the passage of the cars from the mines to the weighing master, the latterA being provided with a suitable key or means for unlocking the holder and removing the checks therefrom.

AAnother obj ect of the invention is to provide a device of this character which will be simple, strong, durable and inexpensive to manufacture, eificient and reliable in operation, and well adapted to the purpose for which it is designed.

With these and other objects in view, the invention consists of certain novel features of construction, and the combination and aik Specification of Letters Patent. Patented Qg, 17, 1916.

Application filed January 17, 1916. Serial 110572,618. l

posed of a rear side 2 having flanges 3 ex tending laterally forwardly fromthe edges thereof,and a front side 4the latter being secured to the rear side 2 by suitable bolts or screws 5, which may be Vextended beyond the plane of said rear side to attach the casingk 1 to a suitable support. rFhe front edges of the upper and lower end flanges 8 are provided with notches 6 which form slots 6 in connection with the front side 4:, said slots 6 being of a suflicient size to allow the passage therethrough of. the niiners checks with which this, invention 'is particularly adapted to be used.

The inner faces of the front and rear sides 2 and L1 are provided with raised portions 7 and 8 respectively, the edges of which curve inwardly from their central portions and then outwardly to form fiared ends 9 and 10 respectively oftheraised portions 7 and S. The thickness of the raised portions 7 and 8 varies between their respective ends, the ends 9 of the raised portion 7 being greater inv thickness than the central portion thereof, while theends 10 of the raised portion Sare thinner than its central portion. By this arrangement, it may be seen that there is formed a channel 11 which is curved tortuously transversely of the casing l. This tortuous channel extends longitudinally of the casing 1 from end to end of the same and has its ends in communication with the beforementioned slots 6. Disposed within the casing 1 and extending longitudinally of the same is a pair of spaced resilient arms 12, the inner sides thereof being disposed adjacent the raised portions 7 and 8 to form the edges of the channel 11. The ends of these arms 12V are bent inwardly and then liared outwardly to form pairs of upper and lower lingers 13 and 14 respectively, the amount of outward curvature of the lower fingers 14: being greater than that of the upper fingers 13 for a purpose to be hereinafter described.

Extending transversely across vthe raised portion 8 is a ygroove 15 in which is disposed a strap 16 which connects the central portions of the arms 12.- The ends 17 of this strap 1G are bent rearwardly into contact with the outer sides of the arms 12 and are secured` thereto by suitable rivets 18, said ends 17 being further extended through openings 19 in the rear side 2 of the casing 1 and then bent inwardly as at 2O to provide a suitable anchoring means. There are a number of ways in which this result may be accomplished, but Vthe above means is the most convenient and is the onerwhich is to be preferably employed.

The inner faces Vof the raised portions 7 and 8 are provided respectively with alined recesses 21 and 22, said recesses being substantially triangular in shape and having communication with a keyhole 23 disposed in the front side'ilof the casing 1. 4

The outer faceof the rear side 2' is cut away at itsupper end as at 2e, and in this cutfaway portion is secured a plate 25 which extends above the plane of the upper end of said casing and to which is hinged a shell or cover 26, the upper side 27 of which is disposed at an angle to allow the check to be easily inserted in the upper slot 6, as will be hereinafter described. This cover 26 is provided with a suitable handle'26 and is adapted'to completely surround the casing 1 to protect the interior thereof from dust, dirt, and the rain.

In operation, the cover' 2G is raised and a check 2S is inserted in the slot 6 in the upper end of the casing l, the upper edge of the front side thereof being provided with.

a notch 29 to facilitate its insertion. Owing to the fact that the flared ends of the lingers 13 act in the capacity of cams, said lingers are spread when the check 28 is pressed downwardly, the latter then sliding down' the channel 11 and into contact with the fingers 14 which are similarly spaced apart bya distance less than the diameter of the check. Y The cover is then lowered Vuntil it is desired to remove the checkfrom the casing, which cannot be done without expanding the fingers 14e. This, however, cannot be dcnewithout the aid o-f a key, owing to the fact that the tortuous channel 11 prevents wires vor nails from being inserted therein for the purpose of expanding said fingers 141-. i

To remove the check from the casing, a key 29 is inserted through the keyhole 23, the wing 30 thereof being received in the recesses 21 and 22 in order to bring the notchl of said wing 30 into contactwith the check 28. By turning the key, the check is forced downwardly, thus expanding the fingers 14k and passing below the same, the iared ends of said lingers assisting in forcing it out through theV lower slot 6. The

lower fingers may be strengthened by placing the screws 5 in contact with the sides thereof, whereby the bending of the fingers takes place at the points of contact.

This invention is particularly adapted to be used in the mining industry, and to this end7 the device is shown attachedlin Fig. 1

` of the drawings, to a mine car C. A miner,

, from which the checks cannot be lost or substituted by other checks by persons not yprovided with a suitable key. It may'also be seen that the structure shown in the drawings is only one way of carrying out the objects of this invention, and as various changes may be made, I do not wish to be, limited to the structure herein shown and described other than that set forth in th appended claims.

I claim:

1. A safety check holder comprising an upright casing having slots in the upper and lower ends thereof and a keyhole in one of its sides, said casing having a channel extending vertically therethrough from end to end of the same and in communication with said slots, and means arranged within each end of said casing and disposed adjacent said slots, the means at the upper end of said casing preventing a check within the same from being kwithdrawn upwardly therefrom, the means at the lower end of said casing preventing said check from be ing withdrawn downwardly from the same, said check being released upon the operation of a key inserted through said key hole.

2. A safety check holder vcomprising a casing having slots in the ends thereof and a keyhole in one of its sides, said casing having a channel extending therethrough and in communication with said slots, and

resilient fingers mounted in said casing adjacent said slots for retaining a check in the channel therein, said check being released upon the operation of a key inserted through said keyhole.

3. A safety check holder comprising a casing having slots in the ends thereof and a keyhole in one of its sides, said casing having a channel extending therethrough and in communication with said slots, a pair of spaced resilient arms mounted within 'said casing, the inner sides of said arms of said arms being bent inwardly and disposed adjacent said slots to provide pairs of resilient lingers for retaining a check in said channel, said check .being released upon the operation of a key inserted through said keyhole.

4:. A safety check holder comprising a casing provided with slots in the ends thereof and a key-hole in one of its sides, and having a channel therein, said channel eX- tending longitudinally of said casing from end to end and curving tortuously transversely of the same, and means arranged within each end of said casing and disposed adjacent said slots for retaining a check in said channel, said check being released upon the operation of the key inserted through said key-hole.

5. A safety check holder comprising a casing having slots in the upper and lower ends thereof and a keyhole in one side thereof, raised portions arranged on the inner faces of the front and rear sides of said casing and extending longitudinally of the same, -said raised portions being of varying thicknesses throughout their lengths to provide a tortuous channel., the latter communicating with said slots, andpairs ofresilient lingers disposed Within said casing adjacent said slots for retaining a check in said channel, said check being released upon the operation of a key inserted through said keyhole.

In testimony whereof I hereto affix my signature.

EMANUEL M. SHORTER. Witnesses-z H. M. POWELL, E. J. SPANIER.

vCopies of this patent may be obtained for ve cents each, by addressing' the Commissioner of Patenti,`

Washington, D. C. 

